my first beardie seems sick

[rutro123]

I just bought my first beardie two and a half weeks ago. He is 5 weeks old. Everything seemed pretty normal until yesterday I noticed he wasn't as alert as usual. He ate this morning and again this afternoon. However, other then when he is eating he seems to be tired and one or both of his eyes keep shutting. Still doesn't seem as alert as usual. He shed once already but his back legs and tail have not shed yet. I don't know if this behavior is normal. Does anyone know if this behavior is normal or should I take him to the vet. Like I said he is my first beardie. I am worried and I just want him to be ok.

 

[daner923]

Hi there! Could you please answer these questions about your set up and care? Most of the time first time owners get bad advice from pet store sales reps, so oftentimes they need to change a bunch of stuff. Sadly, pet store knowledge of beardie care is spotty at best, if not out and out wrong.

How old is your dragon?
How long have you had your dragon?
How long is your dragon?
What is the sex of your dragon?
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in?
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank?
Do you use UVB lights?
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb?
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)?
How old is your UVB bulb?
How close can your dragon get to the UVB, and where is the UVB bulb located?
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage? Is it a white or colored bulb?
Di you have any type of night time heat source (ceramic heat emitter, colored bulb, etc)?
How long are lights on each day?
What are the basking temps?
What is the cool side temp?
What is the night time temp?
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun?
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps?
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad?
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific.
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)?
How many live feeders do you offer at time?
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc?
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them?
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)?
Do you bathe your dragon? How often?
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath?
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done?
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon?

 

[rutro123]

how old is my dragon?
i believe 5 weeks

how long have i had him?
two week

how long?
its about 6-7 inches from snout to end of tail.

what is the sex?
havent been able to tell yet

size of enclosure?
is was a kit from petsmart- 20gal L zoo-med

substrate?
green reptile carpet

UVB?
yes reptisun 5.0 compact flourescant

how old is UVB?
it is two weeks

how close can hyour dragon get to the UVB and where located>
it is perpendicular to tank right next to heat lights so probably a little passed the middle towards hot side. he can get within 6 inches

seperated basking bulb?
yes the kit came with DUAL MINI DEEP DOME™ lamp fixture, 100-watt basking spot lamp and 100-watt nocturnal infrared heat lamp

night time heat source?
the red light from above

how long lights on?
12-14 hours all the lights

basking temps?
100-115 F

cool side?
around 80F

Night time temp?
around 90F +/- with red light on

take temps with?
i have the zoo med digital with probe for temp and humidity

where exactly are u taking basking temps?
i move the probe around to get good temps

do you use heat rock or pad?
no

what do u feed dragon?
smaller crickets about 10-15 3x daily also, collard greens and baby romaine in at all times

do you gutload you crickets?
first week no this week put one cube of flukers orange cube in cricket keeper

do you use vitamins or calcium?
yes, right now confused on how often. zoo med repti/calcium and rep-cal heptivite. been dusting crickets with last feeding daily with the calcium and twice weekly with herptivite

is your dragon having regular bowel movements?
yes--

do you bath your dragon?
just did two times this week only for two min. he panics in there

do u mist?
yes will mist the fake log and him. he will lick the log and his snout. humidity goes right away in two min. stays at 10%

been to the vet?
no

share and enclosure?
no- hes flying solo

lately his eyes have been closed more and or at lease his right eye. could be me being paranoid about his right eye though. thanks for all of oyur future help here! this site seems great

 

[daner923]

Hi there! Sadly, those kits are really bad for dragons. You have a few things that need adjustment.

1. The 20 gallon is fine for now, but you will need a 40 gallon breeder or bigger (at least 36 inches long and 18 inches wide, though) in just a few months.
2. You must get rid of the coil UVB - it causes eye problems and doesn't offer enough UVB, so that is probably why he is closing his eyes a lot. You need a ReptiSun 10.0 TUBE UVB (not ReptiGlo - they are different) mounted inside the tank, 6-8 inches from the basking spot.
3. Turn off the red light. Beardies can see it and it keeps them up at night. If it doesn't get below 65F at night, you don't need anything. If it does, you need a ceramic heat emitter.
4. Temps are okay, but you should really try to stabilize the basking temp at 110F.
5. You should feed him as many crickets as he will eat in 10-15 minutes at each feeding. This could be 50 or more a day.
6. Greens - collards are fine, but take out the romaine. It isn't good nutritionally, and could give him runny poos.
7. You need to make sure you are offering plenty of gutload food for the crickets. Just dump a bunch of those cubes in there.
8. You are okay on your dusting schedule - 5 days a week with calcium + D3 at one feeding a day, and two days a week with multivitamin at one feeding each day.
9. You should bathe your baby every 2 days at this age. Put a washcloth at the bottom and leave your hand in so he feels more secure, but he needs 15-20 minute baths to stay hydrated.
10. Stop misting in the tank. The humidity may stay down where the probe is, but it really isn't worth the risk.


That's all - besides fixing the lights and a few small adjustments, you're doing pretty well!

 

[MsWanda10166]

As Danner said the UVB Coil light is bad. This should be removed, now. Your baby can go a short time without one. Not more than a week or so, but turning the bad one off till you get the right kind will give your babys eye a chance to heal. The bath thing is something new, and I know they toss a fit, but it will settle down when they get used to it. Just make sure the water is not to hot, test for it like you would a baby. You want the temp to be the same as the temp on your wrist. Talk soothing to her while she is in the bath, and if you also need something to help clean her with, you can get a baby soft tooth brush to get any stool that might be on her scales.
Good Luck!
Wanda

 

[rutro123]

thank u guys soooo much! zoo med light is off and just to clarify. No red light ever??? gonna look to get light today. its either the reptisun 10.0 or some 12% light right? and will i set this light on the screen or mount it in the tank?

 

[daner923]

The 12% is Arcadia, but you can't really find it in the US. No red light ever. And you want to mount the light in the tank. You use 3M command hooks and an under cabinet fixture from Walmart or a similar store.

 

[rutro123]

ok thank you!!!! gonna look up where to get the light now(pet stores near by) just bathed him. he seems to be getting used to it